Collusion

Jack Lennon is a Detective Inspector trying to track down his former lover, Marie McKenna, and their daughter -- but his superiors tell him to back off. Bull O'Kane is a bitter old man who will stop at nothing for vengeance. The Traveller is an assassin without pity or remorse, who stalks Belfast, tying up loose ends. Forced into the center of it all is former IRA paramilitary Gerry Fegan, who must confront his past -- and The Traveller -- for the fight of his life.

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Publisher's Summary

From the LA Times Book Award-winning author of The Ghosts of Belfast, Stuart Neville, comes the exciting sequel: Collusion

Collusion returns listeners to Belfast, where a new mystery haunts its underbelly. Jack Lennon is a Detective Inspector trying to track down his former lover, Marie McKenna, and their daughter, but his superiors tell him to back off. Bull O'Kane is a bitter old man who will stop at nothing for vengeance. The Traveller is an assassin without pity or remorse, who stalks Belfast, tying up loose ends. Forced into the center of it all is former IRA paramilitary Gerry Fegan, who must confront his past - and The Traveller - for the fight of his life.

The early reviews for Collusion are just as strong as those for The Ghosts of Belfast. And Gerard Doyle's narration complements Neville's taut, sinister, smart, and suspenseful story perfectly. Collusion is a feast for thriller fans.

What the Critics Say

"Irish author Neville follows his stunning debut with an even more powerful tale of revenge, violence, and redemption. Neville rides the perfect Celtic storm in an action-packed, cerebral thriller." (Publishers Weekly)"James Ellroy and Val McDermid were among admirers of Stuart Neville's corpse-filled debut [The Ghosts of Belfast], and his follow-up Collusion is another mesmerising Belfast blood bath. The Traveller and O'Kane are memorably grotesque creations, and Neville's violent showdowns rival those in Jacobean revenge plays." (Sunday Times) "Collusion is a gripping thriller that transcends its genre through an unflinching examination of how 40 years of internecine strife has left unhealed scars that resonate in all levels of life in the North today." (Irish Independent)

"As it lurches toward its bloody conclusion, the chapters of Collusion shrink, the world contracts, and, ultimately, all that remains is survival. The question Mr. Neville raises with singularly artful drama is whether survival is enough to keep one going." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

"Doyle’s performance of Lennon’s grit and vulnerabilities gives credibility to both, and his portrayals of the brutal villains are downright terrifying." (AudioFile)

In his second outing, Neville proves that his terrific debut novel, The Ghosts of Belfast, was no fluke. This is a well written, carefully constructed thriller full of dark and dangerous characters. The storytelling and pacing are near perfect. This is a book that stays with you after you've finished listening to it.

Gerard Doyle's brilliant narration adds immeasurable texture and richness to the reading experience. With his work on the two Neville books, together with his equally outstanding narration of Adrian McKinty's Michael Forsythe trilogy, Doyle has firmly established himself as the narrator of choice for Irish noir.

Hard but not as brutal as the first part of this epic Irish crime adventure. Read Ghosts of Belfast first. Wait a bit, then finish the story with "Collusion". Again Gerard Doyle makes this experience greater than reading the novel. You will have flashbacks… They're worth it. This story is gripping.Enjoy…

Now… Spoiler Alert… Don't read any farther if you've not read this novel.

How the hell did the hero detective get outta that basement? Was their a chapter missing in my download? Somebody help!

In Collusion we meet Jack Lennon, a character who, although he didn't actually appear in Ghosts of Belfast, has a tremendous significance to many of the characters introduced in that novel. Lennon is deeply flawed and unlikable (he seems almost to relish testing the limits of the few friendships he enjoys), and yet there is something indefatigable and at the same time human about him that endears him to the reader.

All the surviving characters from Ghosts have returned, their continuing stories adding to the tapestry Neville has created with these first two novels. Not all of them will be appearing in the third.

This novel is gritty, and full of intriguing characters. It lacks the freshness of Ghosts, but makes up for it with a taut, gripping complexity. It is by no means necessary that readers visit Ghosts before reading Collusion, but it might be helpful.

Gerard Doyle is excellent. Despite being an American, his superb accent work made all the characters distinct.

For all those who suffered withdrawal symptoms after reading Adrian McGinty's trilogy of violence and revenge, fear not, for here is Stuart Neville, promising to keep you on the edge of your seat or driving around the block. This is the sequel to Ghosts of Belfast, which should be read first. Gerard Doyle, as always, is terrific.

I loved Collusion and The Ghosts of Belfast. Pretty rough and gritty and read really well by the narrator. the only negative is the mouth noises in Collusion were quite bad at times. After listening to Ghosts of Belfast, I wonder if this is an Audible problem with editing, as the first book was narrated beautifully. Still it wasnt so bad i couldnt finish it. I hope Stuart Neville keeps writing more books like this.

I like Jack Reacher style characters regardless of setting. Put them in outer space, in modern America, in a military setting, on an alien planet... no worries. Book has non moralistic vigilante-justice? Sign me up!
(oh, I read urban fantasy, soft and hard sci-fi, trashy vampire and zombie novels too)

I read Ghosts of Belfast and enjoyed it so much that I immediately bought this book.

I have to start by admitting that I was slightly disappointed: the main reason I had liked Ghosts of Belfast so much was because of Gerry's character and the nature of his vigilantism. I had hoped this book would have the same tone, but it does not, quite... sure, it is still an action thriller, and the main characters act outside the rules, but Lennon certainly is not Gerry. And there isn't the twist/suspense as to whether or not the main character was sane.

The setting is the same as book one, and includes quite a bit of Irish politics. I think a lot of the tension in the novel is based on these "Troubles". Being North American, I am not familiar with the setting, and likely did not appreciate the situation as much as I would have if I were familiar with this background (i.e. Lennon being a Catholic cop seems to be a "bad" thing for his generation, but I am not sure why, exactly).

Anyway, there is just enough of Gerry in the story for the author to be able to add Gerry's name to the blurb. This story is really about Lennon, and Bull needing to get revenge for being injured in book one. There is a lot of violence, perhaps a bit more violence than in book one - believe it or not - but for the most part it is not gory, and it fits the story. The 'bad guy' here, though, is a bit too much... he is a step more powerful, stronger, faster, etc, than even Gerry was and, since this is not supposed to have a supernatural tone to it, it was perhaps just a bit too much... nobody is that perfect, especially when they are so badly injured that most people wouldn't be able to defeat their great grannies in a fight.

All in all though? It is a fast paced action thriller where the bad guys get their just desserts in the end - sorta. I will read the next in the series, but I really do miss Gerry as the star of these novels. Even though the accents can be a bit tough to follow, the narration is good. There are, however, a lot of 'mouth sounds' from the narrator... it wasn't annoying, but it was noticeable.

Gerard Doyle makes this book just as he did the first novel in this series, The Ghosts of Belfast. He is simply superb. He manages Irish accents, differentiates characters and keeps the story moving brilliantly. Thirteen was an incredible book. It would be hard for Neville to match it. This is a good book but not quite as good as the first one. And for readers who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of the plot of The Ghosts of Belfast this novel will be uninterpretable. Almost all of the action in Collusion stems from incidents and characters in the first book, and not a lot of explanation is provided for the novice reader. Neville is the best at writing short, action packed chapters that switch points of view among characters. He is a pleasure to listen to. If Doyle reads his next one, I will for sure be a listener.

In the first book, there was a mystery about whether the ghosts were real or just a madman's delusion which gave an interesting spin to a very violent story -- I enjoyed it a great deal and bought this (foolishly) without reading reviews. This sequel was just a long tedious slog through the squalid lives of characters I never want to "meet" again. How to make it better? Come up with another interesting original idea instead of wringing the last drops of bile from a story whose best part was already told.

Would you ever listen to anything by Stuart Neville again?

Not without reading a lot of glowing reviews beforehand. He clearly has talent but ths was awful.

Well written and descriptive, but the plot is much thinner than "Ghosts". This is more a revenge tale with a fairly predictable ending. I love Gerard Doyle's narration - I find myself using much of the slang from the book for days after finishing the listen (sometimes that's dangerous). As a sequel to "Ghosts", I felt it didn't add much to wrapping up the story. I'll miss Gerry Fagan since he was a much more interesting character than Jack Lennon. Buy Gerry's a stud - maybe he'll come back in book three since his "death" was somewhat ambiguous.....

I started the jack Lennon series from the fourth book accidentally. The narrator is really good! He can do all the different accents and dialects and it sounds so real! The story is exciting and you want to know more each time you listen!

Would you consider the audio edition of Collusion to be better than the print version?

never read the print version but loved this book

What was one of the most memorable moments of Collusion?

all of it

What about Gerard Doyle’s performance did you like?

Gerard Doyle was the perfect narrator i suppose that's why the chose him. the story was very good but as with any audiobook, the narrator can make or break the story. i have downloaded all Aidrian Mac Kintys books and enjoyed every one of them.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

laugh, yes

Any additional comments?

Mac Kinty and Doyle, great combination.

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